Chapter 61: A Simple Fall
"Huh."
Just as Joshua was communicating with the humanoid dragon named Faina, Loranda, who was sitting nearby, suddenly let out an exclamation: "Good news."
The warrior and the mother dragon exchanged a glance, then turned their heads together to look at the paladin. Loranda naturally knew what he should do now; he displayed the holy light screen floating in front of him for everyone to see.
The Holy Mountain, headquarters of the Church of the Seven Gods, has its own special method for contacting numerous clergy, and the holy light screen technology, which uses the connection between holy lights to transmit information, is already very mature. As a core high-ranking member of the future Holy Mountain, Loranda always receives information very promptly.
The subsequent information was similar: the Far South Kingdom was suddenly achieving repeated great victories, while the mad dragons were retreating step by step. The tense situation was instantly reversed.
"It seems the Five-Colored Dragon Clan is indeed withdrawing their forces."
Joshua took a rough glance and immediately spotted this sign: "They are about to launch a general offensive against the Holy Mountain. The Far South Kingdom is no longer their main invasion target. The strong have no heart for battle, and the lower-level mad dragons have lost their command. Otherwise, these people would never have completed their tasks so easily."
Perhaps they themselves were still wondering why the enemy had been so easily defeated.
On the other side, Faina seemed unable to read human script—of course, it was more likely that the Holy Mountain side was accustomed to using elegant and complex cursive script, so the mother dragon, who only had a rough grasp of the common tongue, simply couldn't understand it. She could only have Hill repeat it to her bit by bit.
After hearing Joshua's conclusion, Faina also lost interest in the densely packed information above. She stood up decisively and issued an invitation to Joshua: "So, are you still interested?"
Faina's tone was direct, yet carried a hint of goodwill. Her purpose in coming specifically to the rest cabin was obvious—to broach the topic of humanization magic.
"Of course." Joshua also stood up. He downed the tea in his cup in one gulp, then wiped his mouth and said, "But what I'm more interested in is what we should do next."
"Leave that to me to handle." Signaling for Joshua to follow her, Faina smiled and took Hill's hand, then left the rest cabin with swift efficiency. As she walked, she said, "Black is waiting for us."
Seeing the elven youth's helpless expression as he was practically dragged out, Joshua shrugged and greeted Loranda, who was still drinking juice on the side: "I'll be going ahead then."
"Go ahead, it's better for me to have the rest cabin all to myself." Waving his hand dismissively, the paladin looked completely unconcerned: "Just right, I can check on the current situation."
With that, he turned to fiddle with the holy light screen in front of him, focusing on the battle reports from the Far South and the vicinity of the Holy Mountain.
The warrior immediately followed Faina and the others, heading toward the other end of the ship's cabin.
"It seems that Black had a conversation with this Lady Faina while I was off killing the Deep Sea Demon Dragon."
As he walked, Joshua speculated somewhat casually: "Those two seem to have hit it off. Otherwise, Faina wouldn't have been so direct in stating her thoughts the moment she saw me, and then so straightforwardly issuing an invitation."
It seemed this matter was also Black's wish.
A dragon's body is indeed a battle machine forged through countless trials, perfect in a certain sense. But for Black, who could only stay in the lake of Nissier Snow Mountain, that massive body only brought boredom and frustration. Coupled with the lack of any companions nearby, it only deepened its loneliness.
Perhaps, just like Number 3, Black also wanted to possess a human body, to be able to live together with everyone.
Their pace was quick, and a few minutes later, they arrived at a cabin at the bottom of the ship. Opening the door, they could see that the cabin was very spacious, enough to accommodate a dragon's movements. Without a doubt, space-time sorcery had been used here to expand the area.
On one side of the cabin, there was a valve leading to the outside, seemingly for the convenience of something entering or exiting. On the other side were some scattered, massive scales and equipment. Joshua could recognize that these items before him were all for dragon use—only a dragon's body could equip those scales, which were several times the height of a person.
In a corner of the compartment, Black was lazily lying on the ground within a magic formation, seemingly resting. The earlier battle with the sea beast had indeed been easy for it, but it had still exerted some effort, unleashing several full-powered dragon breaths. So when Joshua and Loranda went to rest in the cabin, he had also asked the crew of the Time Vessel to take Black for a rest. It seemed this was the place.
The runes in the formation flickered with light, activating the surrounding fire element to create the most suitable environment for Black. Without a doubt, the half-dragon was very comfortable now, almost on the verge of falling asleep.
But the moment Faina opened the door, Black immediately opened its eyes, alertly raising its head to look at the entrance. This was a vigilance born from its bloodline. However, upon sensing the presence of its master among the group entering, the half-dragon immediately stood up and trotted over to the warrior's side.
"Sorry for disturbing your rest." Smiling as he rubbed Black's head, Joshua suddenly furrowed his brow, staring at the half-dragon's golden dragon pupils and scolding in a low voice: "Alright, stop licking my hand. You need to break this bad habit."
Stopped by its master's serious tone, the half-dragon looked somewhat displeased as it retracted its barbed tongue. Faina, standing nearby, shook her head and said, "Black just wants to show its affection. There's no need to be so stern."
"Honestly, I don't really mind."
Vigorously rubbing the smooth scales on top of Black's head, Joshua replied in a calm tone: "But ordinary people can't handle its affection... That lick just now would scrape off a layer even from stone, and shatter ordinary steel armor. It's only me who can withstand it."
At this point, Black's overall appearance was already closer to that of a traditional winged dragon. However, the wings on either side of its body were exceptionally thick and heavy, more suited for maintaining balance in water than for flight. The two horns on its head had also grown longer, sharp and piercing—at the very least, they could easily punch through the walls of the Lord's Manor. If not for this, Joshua wouldn't have sent it to the lake by Nissier Snow Mountain. Thanks to Black, the wall of the Lord's Manor's backyard had been rebuilt seven or eight times.
A dragon's entire body is a weapon and armor—this is no empty claim. Not just its scales, sharp claws, wings, and pointed horns, but also its barbed tongue, comparable to a scraper, was one of them. The half-dragon's tail also possessed terrifying power. Whenever Black wished, it could spread the scales and bone spikes on its tail, transforming the smooth length into a long whip covered in blades and barbs, freely lashing and tearing at enemies.
"I can see that you're very dissatisfied with not being able to live with us because of your massive size."
Joshua bent down slightly, stroking the half-dragon's neck. He spoke to Black in an exceptionally gentle tone: "As your master, I won't suppress your thoughts. On the contrary, I will fulfill your wishes... Black, tell me, do you want to take on human form?"
The warrior was also a straightforward person; without any euphemism, he directly asked the half-dragon.
And Black, after a moment of hesitation, turned its head to glance at the blue-haired lady beside it.